On the evening of Thursday, April 23, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could take the stage in Pittsburgh and say: "With the second pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select. ..."

The event is still more than three months away, but who that player might be is already a pervasive topic of discussion and Friday night's College Football Playoff semifinal in Atlanta between unbeaten Indiana (14-0) and Oregon (13-1) may or may not help crystallize the pecking order.

In the battle between teams from Big Ten Conference to see which one will face Miami for the national championship on Jan. 19, the Hoosiers are led by QB Fernando Mendoza, who many expect to be the No. 1 overall pick, a selection held by the Las Vegas Raiders.

There has been much speculation about who the Green & White, with the No. 2 pick, might select with some chatter focused on Oregon's Dante Moore. Moore, however, has yet to declare for the NFL Draft. Oregon's only loss this season was against a visiting Indiana team. The Jets have two first-round picks (No. 2 and No. 16) and four picks in the top 44 overall. Alabama QB Ty Simpson declared for the draft earlier this week and could receive first-round consideration. Thursday night's first semifinal, a thrilling Miami 31-27 over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl, saw Carson Beck, whose eligibility is set to expire, grab a win over the talented Rebels' signal-caller Trinidad Chambliss, whom is awaiting a decision on appeal to determine if he can play one more year.

And which of the two QBs plays better at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and propels his team to the title game could scramble things. Or maybe not. No one really knows.

The only thing certain about the NFL Draft right now is that little if anything is certain. The Jets, who still have QBs Justin Fields and Brady Cook under contract, have myriad options at their disposal. They own two selections in the first round (Nos. 2 and 16, via the Sauce Gardner trade with Indianapolis), plus a pair of selections in the second round (Nos. 33 and 44). In addition, the Jets have additional flexibility with, at present, with more than $90 million under the anticipated salary cap, according to Spotrac.

The options can appear mind-boggling, and Jets GM Darren Mougey, during his end-of-season media availability on Tuesday, tried to keep it all in perspective.

"Well, there's still several games to be played," he said, referring to the playoff games. "I think these games will be big and have an impact. And I think there's a process, and every organization is different, in a different situation, but I know that all NFL teams are very thorough with their process and have different tastes or likings or needs at their certain spots. It's always specific, but to a certain case. But yeah, the quarterback evaluation is a full process. I think start to finish with obviously the games being the most important. A lot of that is done. So I understand the question, but there will be some exciting games here still to watch at the end."

In their recently completed 3-14 season, the Jets used three quarterbacks: Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Cook, an undrafted free agent. The offense featured a consistent offensive line that started all 17 games together helped the unit finish among the top 10 teams in rushing.

"I feel good about the offensive line," Mougey said. "I think that's a strength of ours. It's a young group. I think with continuity in the group, they'll only, they'll only continue to get better.

"I know it's, it gets kind of cliche and lame to say, but we'll evaluate the quarterback position. We'll exhaust all options across the league, obviously, with an eye on the draft as well, but we'll exhaust all options at the quarterback position like we do all positions. But obviously that'll be a big talking point, and one we'll have to really dive into."

Mougey acknowledged that the situation is fluid and that, at this point, it's all speculation.

"I can tell you this," Mougey said, "we will exhaust every option: Free agency, [trades], obviously the draft. We will exhaust that and have a good solution for the New York Jets."